Boris Johnson called for cross-party talks to tackle Britain’s social care crisis.
The move could mean new delays to a long-awaited Government overhaul of the system.
The prime minister said at the G7 in Biarritz adult care was “a huge issue”.
He said he wanted to “bring parties together across the political divide and get a consensus”.
Ministers had been expected to outline their proposals in a consultation document from the health department.
A recent House of Lords committee report called for £8billion a year to fix “underfunding”.
Ministers were expected to outline their plan in a long-delayed Green Paper from the Department of Health and Social Care.
But the PM’s admission could see the blueprint pushed back again.
The last proper attempt at cross-party talks on tackling the crisis took place in 2012.
Before that, similar negotiations collapsed in acrimony before the 2010
election after the Tories accused Labour of wanting to introduce a “death tax” by using dead people’s estates to fund the system.
